Once again the GBP is trying to spoil a competition, in this case a skate dancing contest, by voting in an incompetent skater on the grounds that " he givs me a larf".
Well, if it's laughs you want then tune in to Jon Woss or some such childish comedy show , but please treat the DOI show with some respect.
Finding humour in the incompetence of some Z list celeb is
a sign of the mentality of the people who voted Carty back in.
I do realise it is not PC to say these things but "am I worried"?

Its the age old argument

Entertainment show vs Dance contest

Or....

How about those that are overly concerned about skating quality and are hell-bent on a serious competition, tune into Eurosport for the World Skating Championships or the like?

The GBP aren't spoiling anything. It's our show and we are voting for who we want to watch each week.

Isnt there enough threads about this??? I dont mean to be rude but do you really need a new one?

So, you wish to watch an incompetent (skate wise) make a fool of himself so that he can get some "air time"?
Call that entertainment?

Unlike on Strictly, the judges don't really seem to mind... even Jason wasn't overly horrible about the performance and could see the funny side.

The judges on Strictly seemed to have a major humour bypass last series. I'm actually enjoying DOI this year more than SCD... which hasn't really happened before.

Jason isn't nice, but he says what he thinks and can laugh at himself and can see the funny side of routines. It feels refreshing for me at the moment...

I don't think Todd will last the distance; look at Aggie last year, when she fell over she ended up in the bottom 2. Todd hasn't fallen (on screen yet - he did in the tunnel) so I think people wil vote until he either falls over or improves more

Where you see an incompetent fool, I see a brave man trying his hardest and putting smiles on millions of people's faces every Saturday night.

Agreed; for me, he does seem to be trying his best (unlike JS who just thought he could make quips after the 'performance'), he knows he's not very good, but he's given two great performances, not in the conventional sense, but he has alot of determination.

I think the audience can see themselves in Todd; I know that I would be exactly like he is on the ice... and have been in the past (one of the reasons i've tried ice skating once and realised I was crap at it so stopped)

Very true

Well said, what appeals to me about Todd is you can see that he is really trying, and he is not too up himself to laugh about it......

Todd won't get much further but tbh I'm glad Jeremy and Gemma were out before him. I really didn't warm to either of them at all and now that they've both gone, I'm ready for Todd to go.

In my opinon, the first half of each series of DOI (or SCD) is entertainment first and the competition second.

By the time we get to approximately the half-way point, I only want the better skaters (or dancers) or those with the most potential to become the best by the end to be left in the show. That's the time when it becomes more about the competition for me.

After all, looking at last year: Greg Rusedski and Steve Backley had different strengths and weaknesses to each other but overall they were much-of-a-muchness. Therefore, did it really matter if Greg went out in week X and Steve in week Y or if Steve went out in week X and Greg in week Y?

So that's my feeling about this year. I hope Todd doesn't get much further but I really don't think it's the end of the world that he's got this far.

For those of us who haven't had a sense of humour bypass, it certainly IS entertainment!

If it was a serious ice dance contest then it would matter but it isn't, so it doesn't. If it's serious skating you want watch the upcoming Worlds in March. This is a bunch of minor celebs performing for our entertainment We can be entertained by the good skaters or those that give us comedy value. Plenty of room for both.

Being so precious in your response to this show makes it look like your GSOH is lacking.

I'm a competitive adult skater and I love both Ray Quinn and Todd Carty in this show.

I was thinking here we go again when I read the OP. But not for the same reason.

I am as well i think its deja vu with regard to about five other threads, why dont people put them in one?

Some people watch doi (or scd) because they enjoy watching skating (or dancing); others watch it simply because they see it as simply a bit of light entertainment. Surely we should respect each others preferences?

Personally, on scd I vote for who I think is the best dancer, but that's my right. I don't vote for doi because the calls are so much more expensive, but if I did I would rather vote for Ray than Todd.

Other people find John Sergeant & Todd Thingy much more entertaining and to their taste - well, that's their right too. Vive la diference!

OP - No one you may consider worthy has left the competition because of the public keeping Todd in.

Had he left two weeks ago we would have missed out on the most hilarious spectacle I have ever seen on the show. Also seems to me he is trying hard and even better not whinging!

This is entertaining skating at it's best.

I also think there is another reason why celebs with potential may be voted out before the weaker skaters:

People with vote for
a) because they think someone is the best
b) because it is someone they really like
c) because they think someone has really made a great improvement

They will not vote for - those who make themselves unpopular, however good or bad they are at skating. So celebs need to take care they do not say or do anything that will make the public dislike them - because who is going to vote for someone they don't like?

Agree with all you say - but I can't for the life of me see what Ray has said or done to attract the venom directed his way.

Seems he is disliked by some just for being very good.

I have 3 things to say about Here We Go Again

1. it's very nearly the title of a song by Whitesnake - I only reference this as in the 80's I had a massive crush on David Coverdale, thankfully I have now recovered.

2. Yes there are multiple threads all of a similar vein - que sera sera and all that - we are basically inherantly lazy so why bother to read someone else's thread when you can start your own. It happens and posting that you find it irritating keeps the thread bumped up so...work that one out lol

3. I'm going to use the 'S' Word so buckle up. Schadenfreude... and whereas the worst that could have befallen M. Sargent was a wounded ego, I fear Todd may actually harm more than his self esteem if he carries on like last night - bless him - I will freely admit I absolutely loved the albeit unintentional comedy of it..

and sue me, I just thought of a 4th

4. If past experience from both DOI and SCD is anything to go by, the GBP will find the natural 'level' of things eventually equilibrium will break out - I commiserate for those of you who's favourite will fall by the wayside along the way - but That's Showbiz....

Hello Miss_Minervois,

Have to say I agree with your post but have to have a quiet word about comment one.

I can't get the ****** song out of my head now! Thanks.

hahahhahhahhaha it was all part of a cunning plan and it WORKED lol

Sadly, as the umpteenth exactly-the-same show in this genre (interminably long celebrity dance-off contest with characature judges) DOI does not deserve any respect.


I think you'll find that the key audience of this sort of dumbed-down scripted pantomime of a show are exactly the sort of people that will find humour in the incompetence of Z list celebs. That's kind of why this sort of thing is unavoidable.

They could counter this by forgetting the zelebs, with their gushings of "it's been my lifes ambition to appear on this crappy show, I was shot in the head once but THIS IS MORE SCARY" bullshit, and have all professional dancers/skaters competing in a proper competition.

But there would be less scope to drag it out for months and months, and no-one would watch it.

You clearly watch the show, as you are able to quote Donal - so can we assume that you are part of:

Sadly I have seen parts of it, yes. However this was not through personal choice, but due to my other half insisting on sitting through it. Also I am not an avid viewer, I was playing with the cat at the time, but could not avoid noticing that the programme is exactly the same as every other contrived dance-off/sing-off programme, ever. It's incredibly formulaic, even down to the pantomime 'nasty judge', and the 'personal journey' of the contestants.

Having said that, I *AM* the sort of person who would phone in and vote for the most rubbish contestant, for purely comedy value, at least I would if I didn't think all the revenue from phone calls was a total scam, and would encourage them to make more cheap programmes like this.